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Kentucky Players Have Good Grades, Says John Calipari, Who Also Calls Out ‘Bitter Old Men’

John Calipari is apparently getting sick of all the people picking on his program.

The Kentucky coach fired back at those who say his players don't go to class and who say he allows guys to use the Wildcats basketball program as a pit stop for one semester on their way to the NBA.

"All these are good kids," Calipari said, according to the Courier-Journal. "We had a (3.12) GPA as a team for this term with five players who are leaving early, so all this stuff bitter old men say that they don't go to class, it's not true."

One object of Calipari's ire was likely former Indiana coach Bob Knight, now an analyst for ESPN. He has expressed distaste for Kentucky and Calipari, saying the coach likes only having players for one season and disrespects college basketball. He's gone so far as to refuse to say "Kentucky" when referring to the Wildcats program.

Other critics have been unhappy that Calipari took the NBA's rule that players must wait a year before joining the league to a new level, saying his program churns out NBA hopefuls without regard to what is best for them, the NBA or college basketball.

The team GPA — 3.02 for scholarship players — was fourth best among all men's teams at Kentucky, according to the school. All five players who declared for the NBA Draft also finished the spring semester.